Wireless terminal device with user interaction system

ABSTRACT

A wireless terminal device having network access. Selection of menus is simplified by allowing selection of more than one input such as direct touching of the screen, virtual keyboards or roller buttons. A focus marker in the form of a border around a field may be used to limit the area of selection. An object menu icon is visible without needing a right click of a mouse to make selection of the menu easier. The selection of options is localized and parsed before a response to the user selection is sent back to the terminal.

RELATED CASES:

[0001] This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.09/659,419, 09/609,681, 09/607369 and 09/607,638 and also related toU.S. Patent applications having attorney docket numbers017.38954X00-017.38962X00, assigned to and commonly owned by NokiaCorporation and are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to wireless terminaldevices and more particularly to wireless terminal devices havingsystems for easier interaction between the user and the screen.

[0004] 2. Discussion of the Background

[0005] Portable communication devices such as wireless telephones havebecome very popular and increasingly are able to provide much more thanmere telephone access. Such devices have been developed which allow auser to access communication networks such as the Internet from theirwireless device.

[0006] Such a system has been described in co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/607,637 and U.S. Patent application Ser. No.09/659416 which both describe a mobile display appliance (MDA) systementitled “Network with mobile terminals as browsers having wirelessaccess to the Internet and method for using same” which allows access tothe Internet from a variety of wireless terminals. In addition toindividual access, the server also provides a family level ofinteraction so that a prearranged group of terminals may all be allowedaccess to a common group of information and is described in a co-pendingU.S. Patent application Ser. No. 09/609581 entitled “Network with mobileterminals having wireless access to the Internet and method for doingsame”. Accordingly, an individual user may be recognized as havingaccess not only to his own information, but to common informationprovided to the family.

[0007] An example of such a system is shown in FIG. 1, where the network10 includes terminals 20 a-20 c, each coupled over a wireless system toan access point 22, 42. The access point is coupled to a network e.g.owned by an operator like a server of an Internet service provider 24,44, which is coupled to the Internet 26. In addition, the network serversuch as server of an Internet service provider 24 is coupled to a mobiledisplay appliance server 28 that provides the users with specificservices and features through their wireless terminals. Alternatively,the access point 22, 44 can be connected directly to server 28 via anynetwork connection.

[0008] It is also possible that a terminal 20 c outside the service areaof access point 22 may be connected to server 28 by instead being in thevicinity of another access point 42, which then is connected to server28 through e.g. Internet service provider 44, and the Internet or othernetwork.

[0009] The access point 22 is also coupled to a global unit or server ofa product vendor 34. The address of a global address registry 36 with aglobal unit is known by the terminal. A direct connection is connectionis established between terminal via a network access point or server ofInternet Service Provider 24. As according to one alternative addressingscheme to this chosen exemplary system environment of the invention, anaddress of a server 28 is received to terminal and the network node,where from the request to global register was made. After the terminalhas knowledge of the address of the server 28, a direct link can be madefrom the terminal to the server. The Internet address of a global unit34 with the global address server 36 is permanently contained in thememory of each terminal 20. The global address server is a place fromwhich all the terminals may fetch the Internet address of theirrespective remote server. The initial configuration information and orthe configuration of a direct link is loaded down to the terminal fromthe remote server in where it was stored as part of the configurationinformation. This information can be updated e.g. from the server of anInternet service provider, an access service provider or a mobile accessprovider from time to time. The configuration and the addressing of theterminal in the system as well as any direct address link configured toan user interface of the terminal is also updated down to a remoteserver when it is changed. The global unit 34 includes a global addressserver 36 and a global upgrade server 38. The vendor of the systemterminal is connected either directly via network e.g. the Internet toeach remote server 28 or connected in a more centralized way first tothe server of the terminal vendor and from there onto each server 28.The advantage of having the terminals store the Internet address of theglobal address server 36 is that if the terminal 20 is relocated nearanother access point, then the terminal 20 may still obtain the Internetaccess location of server 28 simply by knowing the Internet address ofthe global address server 36. It would also be possible, to instead havea system where the address of the server 28 is stored in the terminal 20and the memory updated as needed. The server 28 authenticates, using theunique identity of the terminal 20, the access privileges of theterminal 20 to be a shared or a group access privileges. Accordingly,the terminal 20 is authenticated and logged onto the server 28 to begina shared session at a shared or group level.

[0010] After the terminal has been authenticated and the terminal hasreceived the downloaded configuration information of services, userinterface and links configured concerning the services and the main viewof the user interface. Then the terminal is ready to be used. Eachterminal includes a unique identification (ID), the IDs are reserved andused by members belonging to the same group. Each of the uniqueidentification of the terminals is recognised in the same server 28 tobe used by the members of the group. Every member belonging torespective group may use same terminal. When one or more terminals eachof the terminals including a unique terminal identification is switchedon. Each terminal belonging to the same group makes a request from theglobal address server 36 with terminal unique identification receivingthe address of the server 28 in which the applications and services arestored and ready to be used. Then each of the terminals belonging to thesame group will get address of the same server 28 into which each of theterminals is connected. Thus, the user can now access services orretrieve information from the server 28 or the Internet 26.

[0011] In addition the terminal to be used to access and use theservices of the group the terminal can be used to access services of anindividual user.

[0012] The user profile and terminal specific user interfaceconfiguration settings as well as possible software component or programupdate to the server 28 are controlled and done by a configuration toolmanager 39 (in FIG. 1) of management server 37. Possible madeconfiguration change may affect both the server 28 and/or theterminal(s) 20 a-20 c. In order for the user to initiate an individualsession and retrieve individual information, the user must use theterminal 20 and provide further authentication to the server 28 to gainan access at the individual level. Either at a shared/group or atindividual level, the user is able to the retrieve the informationrelated to the group of users as well as browses the Internet 26 toretrieve information.

[0013] The mobile terminal to be used can be ordinary PC and a wirelessmodem being able to establish a wireless connection via a mobile serviceoperator to the server 28, which has capability to be in connection tothe network. A mobile terminal can be such a terminal that is describedin detail in any of the still secret patent applications U.S. Ser. No.09/607637, U.S. Ser. No. 09/659416 or U.S. 09/609581.

[0014]FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of a terminal, which showssuch application as the calendar application of on the display operatingwithin the system shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the terminal 20includes a display 70, a user interface (UI) framework 72, a browser 74,a driver 76, and processor 78. Each element is shown here for referenceonly and the location of each element is not intended to be a definedlocation of one element relative to the other elements. For example, theuser interface 72 may be located in the display, as a part of thedisplay, or independent of the display.

[0015] When the user access a service like a calendar service orretrieve information from the server 28 the browser 74 (in FIG. 2) isthe program product that in charge to convey the service specificinformation and the main view of the selected application such ascalendar service from the server 28 (of FIG. 1) to the terminal 20 (ofFIGS. 1 and 2).

[0016]FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram representation of theserver of the system of the network shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, theserver 28 includes a support server 46, a response handler orapplication server 48, a network application server 50, and a directoryserver 52. As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the artthe referenced connections do not depict the physical connectionsbetween the elements but merely logical connections. The support server46 provides services oriented towards enabling and supporting theservices provided to the terminal 20. The support server 46 includes anupgrade service unit 54, a bookmark service database unit 55, a loginservices unit 56, a bookmark database 57, a profile services unit 58, aclient log unit 59 for collecting information about clients, anadvertisement services unit 60, a system log unit 61 for collectinginformation about events in the server 28 from the client log unit 59,an administrative services unit 62, a defined services unit 64, and adirectory client unit 66.

[0017] Still referring to FIG. 3, the upgrade services unit 54 isdedicated to controlled software upgrade of the software for the supportserver 46. Updates are transmitted from the global upgrade server 38 (inFIG. 1) to the upgrade service unit 54. The login services unit 56provides for authentication of the user and the terminal 20 that isbeing used to access the services based on information provided by theclient unit 66. Additionally, the login services unit 56 is alsoresponsible for log-off activities, such as individual sessiontermination. The profile services unit 58 provides for modifying auser's profile information. This modification of a user's profile mayinclude modifying the group and individual information and preferences.The administration services unit 62 provides for administration of thesupport server 46 and the application server 48. The software productupdates are transmitted from the global upgrade server 38 (in FIG. 1)and its configuration tool manager to the upgrade service unit 54 inFIG. 3 and its configuration tool client. The configuration tool clientis the function unit, that acts when any configuration tool manager 38(in FIG. 1) of management server 37 (in FIG. 1) upgrades any softwarecomponent, full executable software program or re-configuresconfiguration parameters; application and system parameters.

[0018] In FIG. 1 a firewall 40 is protecting the connection to and fromthe global unit 34. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatthe firewall unit 40 functions to provide secured access to the globaladdress server 36 and the global upgrade server 38.

[0019] In FIG. 3 The advertisement services unit 60 provides for theserver 28 to tailor advertisements to the user and the terminal 20according to the user's profile information. The defined services unit64 is a classification of“other services” containing items such asbookmark management services, help services, and log services, namemanagement services, and general management services. The directoryclient unit 66 is coupled to the directory server 52 to provide clientverification.

[0020] In FIG. 3. the remote register management and control unit 67that knows the closest or the global terminal validation registeraddress and control unit 67 may also interpret the answer received fromsaid register. Typically, in terminal in the browser login action, theserver 28 manages the client specific parameters 68 individually. Thatmanagement information of one terminal browser session is stored andused after a request is received from an identified terminal 20. Otherrequests received from terminals (20-20 c) processing differentidentification information (IDs) will use browser client specificparameters (68 a, 68 b) and may result in, for instance, seeking ofbookmarks for the terminal when action request originated from terminal.

[0021] In FIG. 1. the terminal may have access through properauthentication and service purchases of a third party publications areavailable from a vendor 33, such as news related information found inmagazine publications or the daily newspaper.

[0022] The user interface of the terminal 20 (of FIG. 1) offers for theuser alternative selections means to select command and a target to thecommand in main menu of the terminal view (the same that is presentedwhen the terminal is powered on) or in an application e.g. calendar thatis used at a time. In the terminal there may exist a hard button, whichuser may press at any time using any service of the system, the hardbutton selection will then result the next view to be changed to themain family view (or main individual view if the PC is used with havingconnection to access point).

[0023] Depending on the used service application, the user givenselection and command from the terminal interface, the given command mayaffect the application content information of the service used by thegroup members. The authenticated group member may change e.g. the groupcalendar content according to given command in such a way, that otherauthorized members of the same group get the latest group calendarinformation from the server 28.

[0024] Thus, by utilizing this MDA system, it is possible to obtaininformation on a wireless device through a server and the Internet.Because the content is being handled by different systems havingdifferent protocols, it is necessary to convert the content from onesystem to another as the data is being passed back and forth. Thus, eachpage being viewed is defined as an XML page template, which is parsedwith general MDA components. The information is then passed by way of alocalization menu, which generates the view into the users definedlanguage. Next, in the localization script, parsing results finally in aHTML page ready for the terminal.

[0025] Thus, the three previous stages are used to correct the fourthstage final conversion, which feeds in the actual content of theapplication questioned like e-mail or calendar content. The result is anHTML page, which is presented in the terminal.

[0026] This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/607369, filed on Jun. 30, 2000, entitled “User Interfaceconstructed from components created from a set of tags”, which provide amethod for generating display instructions by converting a templatescontaining style information into a final format, which converts e.g.data created in one language into a second language. The inventionprovides a method for converting one machine-readable language forexample XML or XSL into another e.g. HTML by applying instructions tostyle templates. The invention provides a high level construct createdfrom a set of lower lever tags. Those tags may be grouped and the newgroup be represented as a new tag, that may be referred to as acomponent. A man machine interface (MMI) of a terminal, that may becreated by using said constructs. The tags can be understood to besystem components e.g. in XSL format

[0027] When the user operates the wireless device to obtain informationthrough the Internet, it is often necessary or possible to use a menuarrangement in order to select various possibilities on the screen. Suchselection is done easily on a non-portable device such as a PC, where amouse or other device may be utilized to control a cursor on the screen.FIG. 4 shows a screen, which is available using a Microsoft Windowsarrangement. It is noted that the selected icon for Microsoft Word ishighlighted and as a result a drop down menu has been made available sothat different options may be selected. The menu is made available byplacing the cursor on the Microsoft Word icon and right clicking on themouse. However, in a portable wireless device, the need for additionalspace and weight makes the use of a mouse impractical. Likewise, becauseof the limited number of buttons on the device, the use of keys tocontrol the cursor is also difficult. Accordingly, it is desirable tohave systems, which are friendly to the user and simple to operate on awireless device when selecting options from a menu.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0028] The present invention provides a wireless device having systems,which offer several alternatives for the interaction between the userand a menu on the screen. This is accomplished through several features,which make selections easier.

[0029] Accordingly, the present invention provides systems for userinteractions with a wireless terminal.

[0030] Furthermore, the present invention provides a wireless terminaldevice having graphic or list view based user interface system for userto interact with menus on the screen.

[0031] The present invention further provides a method for interactingwith the screen by providing simplified steps in the selection process.

[0032] The present invention further provides a wireless system forinterconnecting the wireless device with the Internet and providing asimplified system for selecting options on a menu.

[0033] The present invention further provides a wireless system having afocus marker for indicating which section of the screen is beingcontrolled.

[0034] The present invention further provides a wireless terminal devicehaving more than one alternative for selecting options from a menu.

[0035] The present invention further provides a wireless device where inresponses from a server back to the terminal, localization and componentparsing occurs before a response to the selection is sent to theterminal.

[0036] The present invention further provides a wireless terminal systemwhere an indicator for a drop-down menu is visible along with itsassociated object at all times.

[0037] The present invention furthermore provides a wireless system forallowing a wireless device to access the Internet through a server andto select options from a menu which appear on its screen where theobject of interest is indicated by a focus marker, where the selectionmay be made with more than one device, where the menu is indicated by anicon which is always visible and when the selection is transferred to aserver, localization and component parsing is done for data and audiovisual user interface elements before responding back to the terminal insuch a way, that the server side methods support more than one terminaltype.

[0038] The present invention further more provides a wireless system forallowing a wireless device to access the Internet through a server andselect options from a menu where any visible service to a user of agroup or as an individual user, where selection may be made with morethan one device, that applies direct or indirect pointing method andshown with one of several alternative marked selection means, where themenu is indicated by an icon which is always visible and when theselection is transferred by using browser application as bearerapplication between the terminal and the server user not noticing thebrowser is used at the time and the server, localization and componentparsing is done for data and audio visual user interface elements beforeresponding back to the terminal in such a way, that the server sidemethods support more than one terminal type and or the user interfaceelements are created either in the server or in the terminal.

[0039] The present invention further more provides a wireless system forallowing a wireless device to access the Internet through a server andselect options from a menu where any visible service to a user of agroup or as an individual user, which can be added or configured fromthe network to the server, the service to which a selection may be madewith more than one device, that applies direct or indirect pointingmethod and shown with one of several alternative marked selection means,where the menu is indicated by an icon which is always visible and whenthe selection is transferred by using browser application as bearerapplication between the terminal and the server user not noticing thebrowser is used at the time and the server, localization and componentparsing is done for data and audio visual user interface elements beforeresponding back to the terminal in such a way, that the server sidemethods support more than one terminal type and or the user interfaceelements are created either in the server or in the terminal.

[0040] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user given command interpret andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that is awireless or fixed connected to the network access point, the terminalincluding alternatively one of several size of displays.

[0041] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user given command interpret andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that is awireless or fixed terminal connected to the network access point, theterminal type determining the available and supported selection devicesand availability in the user interface view.

[0042] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user given command interpret andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that is awireless or fixed terminal connected to the network access point, theuser interface view being divided into three areas; service selectiontabs, content and advertisement areas when generic web browsing is notthe activated application service.

[0043] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user given command interpret andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that is awireless or fixed terminal connected to the network access point, thecontent area of the user interface view of the terminal is applied forvisualizing, interacting and event functionality of the used serviceindependently of the type of the terminal in such a way, that objectselection means are the only terminal type dependent part of theusability of the service.

[0044] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, the user given command interpret and showing theresult in the terminal display of a terminal, that the used terminal isa wireless terminal of the system and by selecting a hard button theuser interface view is changed to main family level view.

[0045] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, the user given command interpret and showing theresult in the terminal display of a terminal, that the used terminal isa wireless terminal of the system and by selecting a hard button, whichis configured as back command of browser and the terminal application asweb browsing the user interface view is changed to previous view,

[0046] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, toolbar and or virtual keypad given user command isinterpreted and showing the result in the terminal display of aterminal, that the used terminal is a wireless terminal of the system insuch a way, that users earlier activated view can be activated notlosing the present used service view in such a way, that one of the twoviews of different applications can be selected to be the next showncontent in the view.

[0047] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user command is interpreted andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that theavailable system services, that are selectable from service tabs may beconfigured and to be downloaded to the terminal from the server, theauthorized server, that is connected to the network may download therequired software and data configuration to the server to be used in themain view and the service view as one enabled user or group sharedservice.

[0048] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user command is interpreted andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that theavailable system services when selected the object menu content includesthe commands for the selected service.

[0049] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user command is interpreted andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that theavailable system services when selected the object menu content includesthe commands for the selected service and help as guidance to use theservice.

[0050] Further more the present invention can be applied to userinterface selection, object menu, user command is interpreted andshowing the result in the terminal display of a terminal, that theavailable system services when selected the new event objects may becreated by the user in such a way, that it is then usable with otherusers of the group when the event is ready and saved to the server andwhen later selected by a user object menu is visualized including theactions enabled to the created object.

[0051] This is accomplished by providing a system where the wirelessdevice is connected to the Internet through a server. The screen on thewireless device includes a focus marker in the form of a dark border,which indicates various portions of the screen to specify which objectsare being selected. In addition, the objects on the screen have anindicator, which lets the user know that a menu may be brought up by itsactuation. A selection of options within a menu can occur by using avariety of input devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of theattendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

[0053]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system;

[0054]FIG. 2 shows a terminal of a system; and

[0055]FIG. 3 shows a server of a system; and

[0056]FIG. 4 is a view of a screen, which is know;

[0057]FIG. 5 is a view of a screen according to the present invention;

[0058]FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a menu according to the presentinvention;

[0059]FIG. 7 is a view of a screen according to the present inventionincluding a focus marker;

[0060]FIG. 8 is a view of another screen according to the presentinvention;

[0061]FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams showing the handling ofcommands between the wireless and the server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0062] Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numeralsdesignate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views,and more particularly, to FIG. 5, wherein 20 indicates the view seen inthe screen of the wireless device when connected to any family bulletinboard through the server as described in co-pending application AttorneyDocket Number 017.38962X00. In this program, five tabs 22 are shown atthe top of the screen to select five different functions, each of whichis indicated by a separate icon. Thus, the bulletin board is indicatedby a thumbtack, bookmarks for the Internet are indicated by the globe,the family calendar is indicated by a calendar figure, e-mail isindicated by an envelope and a data base of names and address isindicated by a group of people. Since the bulletin board tab has beenselected, various notes 23 are seen on the screen as if they are noteson a bulletin board, each held up by a thumbtack. In addition, a seriesof color selection buttons 24 are available on the left hand side. Anobject menu may be invoked by selection control button 25 is present inthe upper left hand corner.

[0063] The control button 25 may be also defined to invoke other userinterface features such as a new dialog.

[0064] Under previous systems, such object menus can be observed byright clicking on a mouse connected to a PC. However user studies hasshown, that the non-visual object menu is not used much. Users are notaware of possibility to use an object menu, which they are not trainedto be used and or which is not for offer in view of the display of aterminal. An enhanced feature is to have the object menu indication suchas icon available at all times somewhere on the screen, but essentiallyclose to the selected object after user selection is made. The objectmenu presentation may be also another kind than only an icon. Thus,visualizing an object menu eliminates the need to right click given bythe user in order to even have the object menu to appear on the display.By having e.g. the icon 25 available, it is only necessary to selectthis button in order for the menu to appear. The selection of the buttonmay be accomplished by several different methods. If the device isprovided with a mouse or keyboard, it can be selected by a left click onthe mouse or the appropriate use of arrow keys and the enter key on thekeyboard. However, since this is not typically available on a wirelessdevice, it is possible to use a touch screen arrangement as is describedin several of the related cases described above. The user has to onlytouch the icon with his finger or a pencil in order to actuate thisicon. It is also possible to use a virtual keypad on the touch sensitivescreen in order to direct the selection of this icon in a fashionsimilar to a physical keyboard. It may also be possible to use anintegrated roller on the terminal and roller control buttons if they areavailable. When the user selects the menu icon, it is also necessary toindicate which object this is being applied to.

[0065] The marker or selection means, that user can use is one of themeans in the following list; external mouse that is connected to theterminal, external keypad that is connected to the terminal, visual andvirtual keypad that is displayed to the touch sensitive screen (anddescribed in detail in the cross referenced patent application U.S. Ser.No. 09/607359), direct manipulation selection arrangement made withfingertips or e.g. a pen to touch sensitive screen user interfaceselections (as described in detail in U.S. Ser. No. 09/607638), theintegrated roller(s) in the terminal and roller control buttons (asdescribed in detail in a cross referenced patent application U.S. Ser.No. 09/607359).

[0066] When the external mouse is used for marking the target into whichuser's commands are to be directed, marking the target of the command isdone typically by pressing one button once (the left most button of themouse). Then application specific command is typically selected from amenu (like Edit menu) and then selected command affects the previouslymarked target of the command. When the user uses mouse (or joystick ,trackick pad, track ball) as the selection device the selection ormarking is made indirectly to the object.

[0067] Alternatively when an external keypad is used, the marking orselection concerning target of the selected command may be done bymoving the active selection point to up, down, left or right with the“arrow buttons”. The actual selection or marking is then done bypressing <enter> button. Also alternative to moving the active markingwith “arrow buttons” (→, ←, . . ) the marking point can be moved forinstance by pressing “tab” button and the user interface of theapplication may move the active marking position from one target toanother in such a way, that all the possible targets in one view, one ata time is available to be selectable. Then the command that is to beprocessed for the selected target is typically given by pressing somebutton control like for instance <ctrl> button and in the same time acharacter button (like “W”) or two concatenating character buttonpressings (like “W” and “O”, the first character defining the menu setand the second the command in that menu set or the first characterdefining the command and the second target where to the response isdirected e.g. save to memory). When the user uses e.g. arrow also knownas direction keys as the selection device the selection or marking ismade indirectly to the object.

[0068] Alternatively when a virtual keypad is used for the marking orselection marking the target and giving a command may be done similarlyas above described concerning the usage of an external keypad. Insteadof using “arrow buttons” or “tabs” to select or mark the target andcharacter or function buttons to give certain commands to selectedtarget, the user may do the keypad button selection with his fingertipsdirectly to display “the soft keys”. The soft keys are the keypadbuttons drawn on the touch sensitive display to look like hard buttonkeys of the keypad. This virtual keypad means and methods are currentlypresented in at cross-referenced patent application U.S. Ser. No.09/607359. When the user uses virtual keypad as the selection device theselection or marking is made indirectly to the object.

[0069] When direct manipulation selection is used, the application thatis used can be controlled from user interface. The user first selectsthe target by directly touching the target area in the touch sensitivedisplay. In the next step a menu of commands or a command button isselected (from the view if presented at the moment) and in the thirdstep is when the given command is processed for the selected object. Asa result possibly a status indication of the processed command is shownin the display of the user interface. The direct manipulation methodsare presented in currently secret patent applications U.S. Ser. No.09/607638. The terminal 20 (in FIG. 1) user issues commands to theterminal 20 and the server 28 by using direct manipulation and frommenu-type of UI controls (object menu, toolbar etc.). He either pressthe hardware or software button down, keeps his finger on hardware orsoftware button for a longer period, moves his finger over thetouch-sensitive touch screen and lifts his finger from the hardware orsoftware buttons. All of these basic user interactions—or basic userevents—need to be detected by the hardware and software. Hardware andsoftware buttons are therefore at certain software level consideredidentical. From user interaction point of view they are to be consideredeven.

[0070] Thus, in FIG. 5, the lower note is highlighted in order toindicate that this is the note of interest to which the menu is beingapplied. Thus, in this arrangement it is necessary to first indicate theobject and then indicate the menu button. It would be possible also toinstead include the menu icon on each of the notes so that it would thenbe necessary to only indicate by a single selection the particular menuicon that is present on the selected object. If, for example, each ofthe notes included the same menu icon in the upper right hand corner,the menu for the lowest note may be selected by touching that particularicon so that the menu comes up relating to that particular note. Whilethis arrangement puts extra images on the screen, it makes the selectionprocess easier. It would also be possible to display the entire menu foreach object all the time to make selections even easier. However, thiswould even further clutter the screen.

[0071]FIG. 6 shows a menu 27, which has been displayed after selection.The menu includes a series of options 26, each of which is indicated bya separate button displayed thereon. This menu is similar to the menudescribed above in regard to FIG. 4. That is, individual options can beselected from the menu. The particular options in the menu may beselected in the same manner that the menu icon has been selected asdescribed above. That is, these can be selected using a left click of amouse, a physical keyboard, a virtual keyboard, and a roller ball or bythe touch of a finger or pencil. For Example once a particular option isselected, the device operates in the fashion similar to that commonlyknown.

[0072] As indicated above, the use of this menu icon makes the selectionprocess easier. By having the object menu icon always available, ratherthan having the user to do an input by using the selection or markingdevice to bring it up, one step in the process is eliminated. Also, byhaving the icon available on each of the objects, another user interfacestep is eliminated. This is particularly important in wireless devicessince the screen size is quite small and the selection is not as easy asin a full size PC utilizing a mouse.

[0073] As indicated above, at least five different methods areaavailable for making selections either directly or indirectly relativeto the object on the screen. While different selection and markingdevices may have different possible choices for actuation, one importantfeature is the ability to use more than one type of selection device ina single wireless device. Thus, if a touch screen is available, the userhas the option of touching the icon or to use a virtual keyboard to morethe icon around. While the touching action is the simplest and mostdirect, there may be some concern regarding smudging the screen,especially if it is necessary to do a number of selections over thecourse of the day before it is possible to clean the screen. Also,because the screen is somewhat small it may be easier to control theselection process using the virtual keyboard rather than using a fingerand having a series of errors one to the wrong icon being actuated ormore than one icon being actuated. This, of course, depends on thedexterity of the person involved, the size of their fingers, etc.

[0074] Another reason that a user may not wish to use the touch screenarrangement is that if the user has long fingernails, the fingernail maytouch the screen before the finger tip in a slightly different locationso that an erroneous is made. This provides the user with options as towhich he prefers to use. Not only may different users use differentoptions, but also the same user may choose a different option under adifferent circumstance.

[0075] In addition to having the object menu icon available at all timesand having a plurality of menu icons each associated with its specificobject, as described above, it is also possible to have more than oneobject menu for a single object when the object of lowest hierarchylevel of event objects of a service or application belong as a subset toanother object of a higher hierarchy level of objects in order toseparate two different types of features related to the objects ofdifferent hierarchy level. Thus, it is possible that two menu iconscould be placed on the screen where one menu contains service specificobject menu options of e.g. on one view area and the other menu has itemspecific object menu options in another view area. For example receivede-mails may be the object into, which the first object menu icon relatesand specific received e-mail is the second object to which the otherobject menu is related. Likewise, it is possible for each object to havetwo icons with the same separation of features. This will limit thenumber of options, which the user must select from when the menuappears. The user has easier to give acceptable input command for anobject since the set of commands, which may be given to an object whenone service is used, is dependent of the hierarchy level of the object.This could be extended even further so that each option in the menu hasits own menu button, which would eliminate an additional step. However,this would generally be unacceptable since too many menu buttons wouldbe present on the screen.

[0076] Another manner in which the selection of options on a screen maybe simplified is the use of a focus marker used as a selection markeraround a portion of the screen. A focus marker is merely a borderline,which surrounds a portion of the screen in order to limit the selectionprocess to that area. For example, FIG. 7 shows the screen availableunder the same system described above, but with the fifth or right handtab indicated by several people being actuated. This screen showsaddress book type information for various people and also allowsdifferent groups to be described. Thus, the full screen is indicated bynumber 30. This screen includes a first screen area 31 with the five tabselection buttons. Screen area two, 32, includes a small section belowthe first screen area which includes columns referring to type (i.e.person or group) and name. Screen area three, 33, is below screen areatwo and includes a list under the headings shown in screen area two.Screen area four indicated by 34 is on the right hand side of screenarea two and three and below screen area one. It includes specificinformation related to the selected listing in screen area three. Thus,in this screen, the first item in the list of screen area 3 indicatesthat “my team” is selected and that this is a group. Screen area fourindicates the group name and the group members associated with thatgroup.

[0077] When the user wishes to make selections using a hardware scrollbutton or other selection devices such as screen touches, mousemovement, keyboard actuation or focus area marking, it is helpful tolimit the screen to a particular screen area which is being selected.This is especially true when using scroll buttons. For example, in FIG.7 it would not be clear whether one is trying to scroll down the list inscreen area 3 or the list of members in screen area 4. By moving thefocus marker onto different screen area it is possible to limit thepossible actuation of different items. Thus, the scroll button will onlywork with screen area three if it is indicated by the focus marker. Evenif other systems such as a touch screen is utilized, this may be helpfulsince it will eliminate the possibility of erroneous touches in wrongscreen areas.

[0078] The operation of this focus marker can be compared to using a tabkey on a PC to go between different objects within an application. Thus,the focus button can be moved between screen areas by actuation of asingle button or other actuating device so that it moves in sequencebetween different screen areas. One screen area will normally be set asa default position, such as screen area three. The screen areas may beselected in order using the equivalent of a tab key. The differentscreen areas may also be selected by another actuating device such as afinger touch, the arrow keys, etc. It should be remembered that the mainpurpose of the focus marker is to support hardware button inputs on themobile terminal. Thus, this feature will not occur during browseroperations. It should also be noted that certain parts of the screenwould not be accessed by any marking or selection device. For example inFIG. 7, there is a gray area at the bottom of the screen, which is usedfor advertising and which is not included in any selectable screen area.

[0079] The user interface, that is shown in the terminal display, thatis a wireless or fixed terminal connected to the network access point,the user interface view is possible to be divided into three areas;service selection tabs, content and advertisement areas when generic webbrowsing is not the activated application service. The service selectiontab area in FIG. 7 is the first screen area, where from specific serviceapplication can be initiated to be used. A content area is the screenarea indicated as 30 in FIG. 7. The area below it may be used forinstance advertising.

[0080] Specific marker means such as focus marker may be defined in sucha way, that it is used only in the limited area of the screen e.g. thecontent area.

[0081] The specific marker means such as focus marker may be defined insuch a way, that it is used only in the view of the mobile terminal ofthe system.

[0082] When the user wishes to move the focus marker, the action dependson the type of inputting device. Thus, if a touch screen arrangement isused, the user can only move the focus marker to another object byphysically moving the marker visibly over the new object. If a hardwarebutton input is utilized, the user can step the marker between objectsin the active screen area by scrolling on the roller button. If the userinterface objects are items in one of the lists within the mobileterminal surfaces, moving the focus marker also at the same time movesthe highlight to the next object and using the scroll left/right, theuser can move between screen areas in the surfaces. If the userinterface objects are on a public web page the scroll left/right buttonscan also be used to step the focus marker between objects.

[0083]FIG. 8 shows another screen of the wireless device where thefourth tab indicating e-mail has been selected. In this screen, the lefthand column indicates various categories of listings, which may beselected. In this case, the fourth button labeled “received” has beenhighlighted so that the large area to the right lists the itemsreceived. Within this listing, the third item on the list has beenselected as indicated by the highlighting so, that a preview of thismessage is displayed in the area below the list and having the text.Both the section listing on the left hand side and the selected item inthe listing on the right have the object menu icon indicated nearby.This icon moves with the selected item so that the icon is alwaysavailable but is only visible for the items, which have been selected.This moves along with the highlighting area as selection is being made.

[0084] It must always be remembered that when using a wireless device toaccess the Internet or other network, that different protocols come intoplay between the different parts of the system. Thus, with this layeringof protocols various arrangements must be made to not loose content andto properly interact in a fashion as workable at all levels. Forexample, when an option it selected from an object menu it is necessarythat the selection be forwarded from the wireless device to the serverand thence through the Internet so that the connection is then made andthe selection option is then displayed in the wireless device. Theselected object may be portrait with a selection marker such as thefocus marker and an audio feedback may be played in the terminal whenthe visual object menu indicator is selected for showing the commandselection options for the related object.

[0085]FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 display some of this interaction in regard tothe support server page generation and the support server page selectionresponse handling.

[0086] Every command, that it selectable from the screen and the objectto which the command is directed are considered user selectioninformation. The selected command can be interpreted as code and theobject can be interpreted in a selection data format that may besimilarly structured as the command code (like in HTML).

[0087] The related application of a co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/607369, entitled “User Interface constructed from componentscreated from a set of tags”, which provide a method for generatingdisplay instructions by converting a template containing styleinformation into a final format, which converts e.g. data created in onelanguage into a second language. That invention provides a method forconverting one machine-readable language for example XML or XSL intoanother e.g. HTML by applying instructions to style templates. Now thedescribed sequence is applied in the new page generating process whennetwork server creates the response to the terminal according to theservice that is controlled in the server. This U.S. Ser. No. 09/607369is referred in the following detailed description, in which the overallfunctionality from the terminal to the server and the server respondingback to the terminal is described thoroughly.

[0088] In FIG. 10 presented terminal 20 a, 20 b, 20 c and server 28which are in connection via server of access provider 22 and server ofInternet service provider 24.

[0089] The connection from the terminal to the server of network accessprovider 22 is the earlier described air interface connection e.g. WLAN.The connection from the server of the access provider 22 via the serverof Internet service provider 24 to the server of the mobile terminalsystem 28 is made e.g. TCP/IP connection, which is commonly known asInternet connection. In the terminal there is a HTML control block 300,that is capable to receive HTML page information from the server anddisplaying it to the terminal's screen. The HTML control block does alsosend all user selection information from the terminal via servers ofaccess provider and Internet service provider to the server of thesystem 28. That interface between terminal 20 a, 20 b, 20 c and theserver 28 is part of the API, Application Protocol Layer Interface.

[0090] At the server 28 side in the FIG. 10 there is a request handlercontrol block 302 that receives the HTTP message from the server. Intothe request handler is in connection a service control block 304 , whereto the request handler forwards the user information according to userused service. Depending on the service in question and the informationrelative to the session connection and the user given information theservice block creates response either in XML data and name of the XSLtemplate to be used, when the data is processed further in the nextstage. The page generator 306 receives the response template to be usedand the data, which are further processed in the page generator. Thepage generator tailors the page according to actively use user (whichmay also be multi user) profile and sends it to the HTML control block308. The HTML control block is the control element in the server thatsends the server's response to the terminal as feedback to the usergiven information. The control blocks of the server, which are presentedin FIG. 10, those control blocks are logical control blocks of server28. In FIG. 3 the control blocks of server are presented in such a way,that all the functional blocks of the server is presented in moredetailed than in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10 the request handler control block302 is presented in FIG. 3 in the block called response handler 48 alsoknown as application server. In FIG. 10 the service block 304 ispresented in FIG. 3 in the FIG. 3 in set of blocks; login services unit56, profile services unit 58, defined services unit 64. In FIG. 3 othercontrol units such as network application server 50, directory services52 client log unit 59 and the browser units 86, 68 a 68 b are supportivecontrol blocks to the response handler and services units.

[0091] In FIG. 11 after the user information is input in the terminaldevice the user interface element in the terminal traps the userinformation selection message in step 800, and sends it to the networkfrom the HTML control block 300 by using at present known HTTP messagese.g. POST or GET. The HTTP protocol is described e.g. in “HypertextTransfer Protocol-HTTP/1. HTTP/1.1” publication that is today availablein Internet address http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2068/rfc2068. TheHTTP control block of the terminal fills in the user selectioninformation; given command, application service, the selected object andinformation of the connection session identification, which includes theterminal type. The HTTP message is received at server in the requesthandler unit 302 and the user information, then included as content toHTTP message POST or GET, which one is not relevant from this inventionpoint of view. The received HTTP message content includes sessionidentification, which includes the type of the terminal information anduser selection information. The received HTTP message includes as userselection information; the command user selected, the selected object,and possibly other service application information. The request handler(302 in FIG. 10) makes the selection in step 804 (in FIG. 11) accordingthe application service identification that is received in the HTTPmessage and selects the right service of the services block 304 where tothe message content is further transferred. The service block functionsaccording to user's information (the given command and selected object)in step 806 and as result of the selection it creates response data inXML format and identifies the XSL-teplate by defining e.g. name of thetemplate. The identified XSL template may be for instance “loginscreen”. Then in the next step 808 the received XSL template name isused further on in addition to terminal identification information. TheXSL template is terminal type specific due to terminals differentcapability to interpret, store and display the received information.Size of the terminal display and the terminal's capability to supportcertain signaling protocol are those subject matters due to whichdifferent XSL templates are used with different type of terminals instep 808. For instance the first view after the terminal is powered onis so called “login screen”, which is identified in the previous step806, and for instance if the terminal of the mobile system used “loginscreen mda” is used in the next step 810. If common PC is the usedterminal type then “login screen PC” is used in the step 810. If theused terminal is for instance Nokia's WAP mobile phone the used loginscreen, that will be in WML format (Wireless Markup Language format asspecified by WAP forum at Internet address http://www.wapforum.org/),and is named for instance “login screen 7110” to be used in step 810.The page generator (306 in FIG. 10) receives the service block selectedresponse template, which is further processed in the page generator. Thepage generator in step 810 in FIG. 11 tailors the page according toactively used user profile (,which may also be multi user profile). Forinstance language selection of the actively used profile defines, thatpage generator translates all the text information into the definedlanguage. The terminals marker and selection devices or mean, that it iscapable to support are known according to the terminal type. Any otherUser interface specific means than marker and selection means may alsobe defined according to the terminal type. At present filed relatedapplication of a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/607369,entitled “User Interface constructed from components created from a setof tags”, which describe the method of a page generation, that isapplied (in step 810 in FIG. 11) in this one step in the method of theinvention. The page generation stage provides a method for generatingdisplay instructions by converting template containing style informationinto a final format, which converts e.g. data created in one languageinto a second language. The method for converting one machine-readablelanguage for example XML or XSL into another e.g. HTML by applyinginstructions to style template is described in the referred patentapplication. At the server (28 in FIG. 1 and 10) the HTML page is sendfrom the HTML control block (308 in FIG. 10) to the terminal in step 812in FIG. 11. In the terminal the HTML page information (or WMLinformation if WAP terminal is used) is received and displayed on theterminal screen in step 814 in FIG. 11 by the HTML control block 300 (oralternatively by WML control block if WAP terminal is used). The stepsdescribed in FIG. 11 and explained above in the server side phases ofthe method may be at least partly been done in parallel order. The usedair interface protocol is at present HTTP over the WLAN, but in thefuture basic idea of this invention embodiment can be applied in otherbearer and protocol environment over the air. For instance possiblealternatives are the GPRS, General Radio Packet Service specified by theETSI or the third generation wireless terminal system specified by 3GPP.The previous processing steps 800-814 of FIG. 11 can then be done partlyin the server side in the network and partly in the terminal in such away, that on terminal side more steps of the method is made Forsimplicity, this will be explained as being processed on the mobilesystem server side. This is the preferable manner since it is best tohave as much processing accomplished out of the wireless device in orderto make it simpler and more portable.

[0092] When a response from the system server 28 (of FIG. 1) or from theInternet via a cellular network is sent back to the terminal, theprocessing direction is converted into that shown in FIG. 9 and similaras presented in U.S. Ser. No. 09/607369.

[0093] Corresponding parts operate in similar fashion but in a reverseorder. Thus, it can be seen that any user selection information beingtransferred to the server has localization and component parsingperformed before a response to the user selection is sent back to theterminal.

[0094] Thus, each page is defined as an XML page template, which areparsed with general mobile system components like the service menus andobject menus. After that the context of view information is passed vialocalization menu, which generates the view into the user's definedlanguage. This localization is user/family profile definitions. The nextstep is the localization script in which parsing produces an HTML pageready for the terminal to be transferred via WLAN. The localization andparsing can support terminals, that have more than one possible size ofthe display, but doing the necessary information processing in such away, that the mobile terminal of a system is supported optimized way.That means, that depending on the memory means of the terminal possiblymore information is sent to the terminal that is being able to be shownin the display view at a time. Other terminals such as fixed connectedterminal to the network may receive e.g. less information than themobile terminal of the system.

[0095] When the user access a service like a calendar service orretrieve information from the server 28 the browser 74 (in FIG. 2) isthe program product that in charge to convey the service specificinformation and the main view of the selected application such ascalendar service from the server 28 (of FIG. 1) to the terminal 20 (ofFIGS. 1 and 2). When user information selection is sent from theterminal to the server the transfer is made by applying the browserapplication of the terminal (the browser 74 in FIG. 2) and the serversystem (blocks 68, 68 a or 68 b in FIG. 3). The in the server side thereceived HTML format user information is initially received in thebrowser block 68 of FIG. 3 and part of the browser methods in serverside uses the terminal client specific section 68 a or 68 b of thebrowser.

[0096] The software product updates are transmitted from the globalupgrade server 38 (in FIG. 1) and its configuration tool manager to theupgrade service unit 54 in FIG. 3 and its configuration tool client. Theconfiguration tool client is the function unit, that acts when anyconfiguration tool manager 38 (in FIG. 1) of management server 3 7 (inFIG. 1) upgrades any software component, full executable softwareprogram or re-configures configuration parameters; application andsystem parameters and user interface style information such as terminalstyle templates.

[0097] When operating the wireless device, different activatingmechanisms can be utilized, as described above. Thus, this may includean external mouse connected to the terminal, an external keyboardconnected to the terminal, an virtual keypad that is displayed on thetouch sensitive screen, a direct manipulation arrangement or anintegrated roller in the terminal with roller control buttons. Theoperation of these different devices is herewith described.

[0098] When the external mouse is used for marking the object into whichthe user commands are to be directed, marking is done typically bypressing one button one time (left click). Application specific commandsare typically selected from the menu, which affects the previouslymarked object. This is the basic mouse selection pattern currently usedin most PC's.

[0099] When an external keypad is used, the marker may be activated bymoving the active selection point up, down, left or right with the“arrow buttons” and the actual selection is done by the enter button.The alternative to using the arrow buttons is the use of the tab buttonin order to move the marking position from one object to another one ata time until the preferred object is selected. The command that is to beprocessed is given by pressing some button control such as the controlbutton and at the same time a character button or by using two characterbuttons together. This kind of marking and selection is also generallyknown in standard PC's. If a virtual keypad is used, the marking andselection of the object may be done similarly as described with theexternal keypad situation, but instead of using arrow buttons or tabs,the user uses fingertips directly on displayed soft keys which arekeypad buttons drawn on the touch sensitive display to look like hardbutton keys. This type of virtual keypad is described more completely inU.S. application Ser. No. 09/607,359 filed Jun. 30, 2000.

[0100] When direct manipulation is used, the selection is accomplishedby directly touching the object area in the touch sensitive display. Astatus indication of the process command can be shown in the display ofthe user interface. Direct manipulation methods are described inco-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/607,638 filed Jun. 30, 2000. Theselected object is typically shown in different color by highlighting orshading.

[0101] Numerous additional modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is thereforebeen understood that within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

1. A communication system, comprising: at least one wireless terminal;an access point in wireless communication with said terminal and formingpart of a network; a server connected to said network; said wirelessterminal having more than one selector for selecting objects so thatselection information is transferred from the terminal to the server. 2.The wireless system according to claim 1, further comprising aconnection from one of the access point and server to the Internet. 3.The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein in response to theselection information being transferred from the terminal to the server,the server responds back to the terminal, with suitable page templateinto which localization and component parsing being accomplished beforea response to the selection information is sent to the terminal.
 4. Thewireless system according to claim 1, wherein object menu icon isprovided on a screen of said wireless terminal with associated object.5. The wireless system according to claim 4, wherein object menu iconsassociated with a plurality of objects are visible at the same time. 6.The wireless system according to claim 1, wherein said wireless terminalutilizes a focus marker around fields on a screen.
 7. A method ofselecting items on a screen of a terminal comprising: providing aterminal in communication with a server; displaying an appropriatescreen on said terminal; displaying an object menu icon associated withsaid screen visibly at all times of said display.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein said object menu icon includes a pluralityof icons, each associated with different objects on said screen.
 9. Themethod according to claim 7, further comprising selecting objects fromsaid screen using two alternative selectors.
 10. The method according toclaim 9, wherein said selectors include a touch screen and virtual keys.11. The method according to claim 7, further comprising marking a fieldof said screen with a focus marker to limit selection.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 7, further comprising: transferring user selectioninformation to said server; said server responding back to saidterminal; localizing and parsing said selection response informationbefore responding back to said terminal.
 13. A terminal devicecomprising: a screen on which objects including icons appear; at leasttwo independent selector devices for selecting objects from said screen.14. The device according to claim 13, wherein said two selectors includea touch screen and virtual keys.
 15. The device according to claim 13,wherein said screen visibly displays an object menu icon at all times.16. A device according to claim 15, wherein said object menu iconincludes a plurality of object menu icons, each associated with aseparate object on said screen.
 17. A device according to claim 13,further comprising a focus marker device for indicating on said screen afield to which said selectors are limited.
 18. A terminal devicecomprising: a screen on which objects including icons appear; at leasttwo independent selector devices for selecting objects from said screen;a focus marker device for placing a marker around a field on said screento which selection is limited; and an object menu icon visibly presentat all times on said screen.
 19. A terminal device according to one ofclaims 13 and 18, further comprising a wireless connection to an accesspoint of the network.
 20. The method according to claim 7, wherein theterminal is wirelessly connected to a network.
 21. The method accordingto claim 7, wherein the terminal is fixedly connected to a network. 22.The wireless system according to claim 4, wherein the object menu iconcauses an audio feedback to be played in the terminal when the icon isselected to open.
 23. The wireless system according to claim 1, whereinthe selection information is transferred from the terminal to the serverby applying a browser application between a terminal and serverconnection.
 24. The wireless system according to claim 1, where in theselection information may be processed into HTML format in the terminalbefore it is sent to the server.
 25. The terminal device according toone of claims 13 and 18, wherein the size of the terminal display variesaccording to terminal type.
 26. The method according to claim 12,further comprising: selecting information template and localizing andparsing the selection response information, so as to support multiplesize display of the terminal, before the response is sent back to saidterminal.
 27. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:applying a focus marker to the view of a mobile terminal of the system.28. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: selectinginformation template and localizing and parsing the selection responseinformation in such a way, that a focus marker is supported for theterminal and added to view before responding back to said terminal. 29.The communication system of claim 1, further comprising: a service thatis selectable from a service tab which may be downloaded from amanagement server.
 30. The method of claim 27, further comprising: auser interface style template for us when the screen of a service ismade, which is downloaded from a management server.